Topping off with used oil
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Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Think about a 5K change. Put new oil & filter in, catching and saving about 3-4 quarts of the old oil. Car goes 4000 miles, and it is now 1 quart low. Why put in a new quart that would soon be drained out?
The old stuff probably easily has 1000 miles of life left in it, and would only be 20% of the volume anyway. You save resources and money by reusing that one quart for the remaining 1000 miles.
Really??? Then extend your OCI. This isn't rocket surgery, man.
Funny thing, If I go a 6000 mile OCI on a beater, no one would even blink. However, I give the car a full change with new oil and a filter every 5K, but have just one qt., (thats just 20%), go 6000 miles total and it generates all the "smart" remarks.
It ain't rocketsurgery science, man.
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Think about a 5K change. Put new oil & filter in, catching and saving about 3-4 quarts of the old oil. Car goes 4000 miles, and it is now 1 quart low. Why put in a new quart that would soon be drained out?
The old stuff probably easily has 1000 miles of life left in it, and would only be 20% of the volume anyway. You save resources and money by reusing that one quart for the remaining 1000 miles.
Really??? Then extend your OCI. This isn't rocket surgery, man.
Funny thing, If I go a 6000 mile OCI on a beater, no one would even blink. However, I give the car a full change with new oil and a filter every 5K, but have just one qt., (thats just 20%), go 6000 miles total and it generates all the "smart" remarks.
It ain't rocket
I'm going to be doing waste oil for top ups. It will be money in my pocket using up waste oil in it. All I need is another few months and my Aerostar might just be someone's new refrigerator. lol
We store about 4 gallons of waste oil here in one gallon bottles. After it sits a week or so about 3/4 of it is fine for things like chainsaw bar oil and stuff like that.
One of my employees has used it for years in his beater cars, and it has never caused any obvious problems.
I just wouldn't use the last inch or two in the bottom!
One of my employees has used it for years in his beater cars, and it has never caused any obvious problems.
I just wouldn't use the last inch or two in the bottom!
Depends on each situation. I had a nearly new VW Bug years ago and a 20+ year old Plymouth that burned a quart of oil every 250 to 500 miles. The VW OCI was factory set at 1,500 miles and I used the VW used oil to keep the Plymouth going for an extra 3-4 years and sold it running. I think I was smart using the Used oil as top-up in this case. Ed
good one there is always a need for used oil,beaters,heaters and bombers.my dad took my old oil and put in his old chevy c-10, till the wheels fell off.
Interesting topic. For someone who might do oil changes a bit early, maybe they are still stuck on 3k OCIs, I think using a waste oil as a top off might be a viable thing to do. I would let it settle as SteveSTR8 suggested.
However, if the car is consuming a large amount of oil that using waste oil to top off makes sense and an option, I might just top off with new and never really perform an oil change and just throw a new filter on every 5k or so.
However, if the car is consuming a large amount of oil that using waste oil to top off makes sense and an option, I might just top off with new and never really perform an oil change and just throw a new filter on every 5k or so.
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: Donald
I might get cheap oil, but never used oil.
Yep.
You can build a stock of oil so cheaply that I don't know why anyone would consider putting used oil in an engine.
I felt the same way and then said, why put good oil in an engine that is going to a junkyard in a few months? Even if the oil was .$50 a qt it's still money in my pocket, as petty as that sounds. Besides I'm recycling waste oil. Heck I'd take it one step further, if the new oil was free I'd use it in something I cared about, and still use up the waste oil. JMO
Originally Posted By: Donald
I might get cheap oil, but never used oil.
Yep.
You can build a stock of oil so cheaply that I don't know why anyone would consider putting used oil in an engine.
I felt the same way and then said, why put good oil in an engine that is going to a junkyard in a few months? Even if the oil was .$50 a qt it's still money in my pocket, as petty as that sounds. Besides I'm recycling waste oil. Heck I'd take it one step further, if the new oil was free I'd use it in something I cared about, and still use up the waste oil. JMO
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If you change your oil every 5,000 miles, and find that you're low on oil at about 4,000 miles, you're better off just changing the oil early. It's showing that you have a worn engine, and an early oil change will help extend the life of the engine.
Originally Posted By: mystere
It's showing that you have a worn engine,
Not exactly. Some engines come fresh from the factory with far, far more consumption than 1qt./4000 miles from the beginning. Ample threads here attest to that. Many manufactures would be more than happy if their new engines only consumed 1qt./4000 miles. Besides, oils are naturally volatile (NOACK) to some degree.
It's showing that you have a worn engine,
Not exactly. Some engines come fresh from the factory with far, far more consumption than 1qt./4000 miles from the beginning. Ample threads here attest to that. Many manufactures would be more than happy if their new engines only consumed 1qt./4000 miles. Besides, oils are naturally volatile (NOACK) to some degree.
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: mystere
It's showing that you have a worn engine,
Not exactly. Some engines come fresh from the factory with far, far more consumption than 1qt./4000 miles from the beginning. Ample threads here attest to that. Many manufactures would be more than happy if their new engines only consumed 1qt./4000 miles. Besides, oils are naturally volatile (NOACK) to some degree.
Interesting, but I never had an engine consume oil when it was new. When the engine had over 100,000 Miles, then some of my vehicles have used some oil. My 1982 Toyota pickup never consumed oil until it got to around 150k miles. The head had worn valve seals when it started consuming oil. My Honda Fit has 41,000 miles on it, and doesn't use a drop of oil yet. My 1968 Ford F100 Pickup doesn't consume oil either; my uncle bought it brand new, and never had an overhaul from 1968-1995. I inherited the truck in 95 with 106,000 Miles on it. I have found that whenever a vehicle consumes oil, it has problems passing California's Smog Tests.
Originally Posted By: mystere
It's showing that you have a worn engine,
Not exactly. Some engines come fresh from the factory with far, far more consumption than 1qt./4000 miles from the beginning. Ample threads here attest to that. Many manufactures would be more than happy if their new engines only consumed 1qt./4000 miles. Besides, oils are naturally volatile (NOACK) to some degree.
Interesting, but I never had an engine consume oil when it was new. When the engine had over 100,000 Miles, then some of my vehicles have used some oil. My 1982 Toyota pickup never consumed oil until it got to around 150k miles. The head had worn valve seals when it started consuming oil. My Honda Fit has 41,000 miles on it, and doesn't use a drop of oil yet. My 1968 Ford F100 Pickup doesn't consume oil either; my uncle bought it brand new, and never had an overhaul from 1968-1995. I inherited the truck in 95 with 106,000 Miles on it. I have found that whenever a vehicle consumes oil, it has problems passing California's Smog Tests.
Originally Posted By: mystere
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: mystere
It's showing that you have a worn engine,
Not exactly. Some engines come fresh from the factory with far, far more consumption than 1qt./4000 miles from the beginning. Ample threads here attest to that. Many manufactures would be more than happy if their new engines only consumed 1qt./4000 miles. Besides, oils are naturally volatile (NOACK) to some degree.
Interesting, but I never had an engine consume oil when it was new. When the engine had over 100,000 Miles, then some of my vehicles have used some oil. My 1982 Toyota pickup never consumed oil until it got to around 150k miles. The head had worn valve seals when it started consuming oil. My Honda Fit has 41,000 miles on it, and doesn't use a drop of oil yet. My 1968 Ford F100 Pickup doesn't consume oil either; my uncle bought it brand new, and never had an overhaul from 1968-1995. I inherited the truck in 95 with 106,000 Miles on it. I have found that whenever a vehicle consumes oil, it has problems passing California's Smog Tests.
Some car mfgs consider a qt of oil per 1000 miles normal consumption, so adding a qt in 4000 miles is not a sign of a worn engine. You might have been lucky with your vehicles, others not so lucky. My 88 Ford still doesn't use any oil, my Jeep doesn't either. My neighbors 25,000 mile 2010 CRV uses a qt every 3000 miles like clockwork. It runs like a top and Honda told him it was perfectly normal. While disappointing to some people, its a fact of life to others.
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: mystere
It's showing that you have a worn engine,
Not exactly. Some engines come fresh from the factory with far, far more consumption than 1qt./4000 miles from the beginning. Ample threads here attest to that. Many manufactures would be more than happy if their new engines only consumed 1qt./4000 miles. Besides, oils are naturally volatile (NOACK) to some degree.
Interesting, but I never had an engine consume oil when it was new. When the engine had over 100,000 Miles, then some of my vehicles have used some oil. My 1982 Toyota pickup never consumed oil until it got to around 150k miles. The head had worn valve seals when it started consuming oil. My Honda Fit has 41,000 miles on it, and doesn't use a drop of oil yet. My 1968 Ford F100 Pickup doesn't consume oil either; my uncle bought it brand new, and never had an overhaul from 1968-1995. I inherited the truck in 95 with 106,000 Miles on it. I have found that whenever a vehicle consumes oil, it has problems passing California's Smog Tests.
Some car mfgs consider a qt of oil per 1000 miles normal consumption, so adding a qt in 4000 miles is not a sign of a worn engine. You might have been lucky with your vehicles, others not so lucky. My 88 Ford still doesn't use any oil, my Jeep doesn't either. My neighbors 25,000 mile 2010 CRV uses a qt every 3000 miles like clockwork. It runs like a top and Honda told him it was perfectly normal. While disappointing to some people, its a fact of life to others.
When I look at the OP's question, I believe he is asking for examples of when using used oil for top off might be appropriate.
The correct answers given here were for true "beater cars", and/or junk yard bound cars. Sure, knock your socks off and save a few bucks over a year if it makes you happy. The car is on borrowed time anyway.
In any other vehicle, it seems penny wise/pound foolish to me to save $3 every now and then.
Here is one way to rationalize using new oil for top off. As the oil nears it's one quart low level, it is probably working harder and depleting itself quicker. New oil will replenish the additives for the final miles.
Even better, if you know you have an oil user, top it off at 3/4 quarts down, overfilling 1/4 quart (no issue). Then you have that new oil in there for more miles, getting the most value out of it AND benefiting your engine the most. Problem solved....all for about $3 (more if synthetic).
The correct answers given here were for true "beater cars", and/or junk yard bound cars. Sure, knock your socks off and save a few bucks over a year if it makes you happy. The car is on borrowed time anyway.
In any other vehicle, it seems penny wise/pound foolish to me to save $3 every now and then.
Here is one way to rationalize using new oil for top off. As the oil nears it's one quart low level, it is probably working harder and depleting itself quicker. New oil will replenish the additives for the final miles.
Even better, if you know you have an oil user, top it off at 3/4 quarts down, overfilling 1/4 quart (no issue). Then you have that new oil in there for more miles, getting the most value out of it AND benefiting your engine the most. Problem solved....all for about $3 (more if synthetic).
After reading on the Neptune site regarding the propensity of top up oil (meaning new top up oil) to boost the TBN of everything in the crankcase, I wouldn't add anything but new oil. If I had a car that needed lots of top up, I'd consider using a cheaper oil that still meets service spec requirements as my top up.
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
The correct answers given here were for true "beater cars", and/or junk yard bound cars. Sure, knock your socks off and save a few bucks over a year if it makes you happy. The car is on borrowed time anyway.
In any other vehicle, it seems penny wise/pound foolish to me to save $3 every now and then.
Bingo! And the only reason I'd ad used oil to a car. Anything I care about would get fresh clean oil for top up. Fortunately the vehicles I plan on keeping don't use oil.
The correct answers given here were for true "beater cars", and/or junk yard bound cars. Sure, knock your socks off and save a few bucks over a year if it makes you happy. The car is on borrowed time anyway.
In any other vehicle, it seems penny wise/pound foolish to me to save $3 every now and then.
Bingo! And the only reason I'd ad used oil to a car. Anything I care about would get fresh clean oil for top up. Fortunately the vehicles I plan on keeping don't use oil.
Originally Posted By: AVB
If I was going to put it back in, I would have never taken it out.
This.
If I was going to put it back in, I would have never taken it out.
This.
gathermewool
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Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Think about a 5K change. Put new oil & filter in, catching and saving about 3-4 quarts of the old oil. Car goes 4000 miles, and it is now 1 quart low. Why put in a new quart that would soon be drained out?
The old stuff probably easily has 1000 miles of life left in it, and would only be 20% of the volume anyway. You save resources and money by reusing that one quart for the remaining 1000 miles.
Really??? Then extend your OCI. This isn't rocket surgery, man.
Funny thing, If I go a 6000 mile OCI on a beater, no one would even blink. However, I give the car a full change with new oil and a filter every 5K, but have just one qt., (thats just 20%), go 6000 miles total and it generates all the "smart" remarks.
It ain't rocketsurgery science, man.
No one would blink an eye because it's an absolutely normal thing to do. In fact, adding a fresh quart of oil throughout the oil change interval will replenish the additive package and allow for a longer interval.
Again, if you added a used quart to help get you to another X number of miles, then why wouldn't you have left 100% of the used oil in there a little longer? Have you seen some of the gas station oils that have been recently reported as unsuitable for motor vehicles? Would you top off with this kind of oil? If the used oil you have available was used to the point of additive depletion, viscosity and flashpoint breakdown, and etc., then I don't see the difference. If not, then it should not have been drained in the first place.
The "rocket surgery" quip was meant to be ironic and silly, but I'll thank you for the correction, irregardless
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Think about a 5K change. Put new oil & filter in, catching and saving about 3-4 quarts of the old oil. Car goes 4000 miles, and it is now 1 quart low. Why put in a new quart that would soon be drained out?
The old stuff probably easily has 1000 miles of life left in it, and would only be 20% of the volume anyway. You save resources and money by reusing that one quart for the remaining 1000 miles.
Really??? Then extend your OCI. This isn't rocket surgery, man.
Funny thing, If I go a 6000 mile OCI on a beater, no one would even blink. However, I give the car a full change with new oil and a filter every 5K, but have just one qt., (thats just 20%), go 6000 miles total and it generates all the "smart" remarks.
It ain't rocket
No one would blink an eye because it's an absolutely normal thing to do. In fact, adding a fresh quart of oil throughout the oil change interval will replenish the additive package and allow for a longer interval.
Again, if you added a used quart to help get you to another X number of miles, then why wouldn't you have left 100% of the used oil in there a little longer? Have you seen some of the gas station oils that have been recently reported as unsuitable for motor vehicles? Would you top off with this kind of oil? If the used oil you have available was used to the point of additive depletion, viscosity and flashpoint breakdown, and etc., then I don't see the difference. If not, then it should not have been drained in the first place.
The "rocket surgery" quip was meant to be ironic and silly, but I'll thank you for the correction, irregardless
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Again, if you added a used quart to help get you to another X number of miles, then why wouldn't you have left 100% of the used oil in there a little longer?
You can't "leave it" in there if the car consumes it. If its a qt.low, I am topping off. Period.
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Have you seen some of the gas station oils that have been recently reported as unsuitable for motor vehicles? Would you top off with this kind of oil?
No. I would not. I am draining PYB which has life left even after 5K miles. Why would you streach to make a silly assumption like that?
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
If the used oil you have available was used to the point of additive depletion, viscosity and flashpoint breakdown, and etc., then I don't see the difference.
It is not fully depleted. PYB can go past 5K, readthe UOA's. Especially so since I drive near 100% highway mileage.
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
If not, then it should not have been drained in the first place.
A 5K interval assures a fresh filter, and a whole fresh fill. Can't see that?
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
The "rocket surgery" quip was meant to be ironic and silly, but I'll thank you for the correction, irregardless div>
Yeah, Sure it was.
Again, if you added a used quart to help get you to another X number of miles, then why wouldn't you have left 100% of the used oil in there a little longer?
You can't "leave it" in there if the car consumes it. If its a qt.low, I am topping off. Period.
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Have you seen some of the gas station oils that have been recently reported as unsuitable for motor vehicles? Would you top off with this kind of oil?
No. I would not. I am draining PYB which has life left even after 5K miles. Why would you streach to make a silly assumption like that?
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
If the used oil you have available was used to the point of additive depletion, viscosity and flashpoint breakdown, and etc., then I don't see the difference.
It is not fully depleted. PYB can go past 5K, readthe UOA's. Especially so since I drive near 100% highway mileage.
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
If not, then it should not have been drained in the first place.
A 5K interval assures a fresh filter, and a whole fresh fill. Can't see that?
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
The "rocket surgery" quip was meant to be ironic and silly, but I'll thank you for the correction, irregardless div>
Yeah, Sure it was.
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